title: Investigation of public health issues by regional field disease investigation units.
abstract: The conventional means of delivering animal health services to agricultural animal producers (private veterinary practitioners and state animal disease diagnostic laboratories) leave a gap where important regional disease problems are inefficiently addressed. This gap was successfully targeted by Dr. Clive Gay in the development of the Field Disease Investigation Unit (FDIU) for the northwestern region of the United States. The FDIU has also successfully targeted several zoonotic public health concerns and its success demonstrates the existence of a similar gap in the investigation and control of important public health issues including disseminated Salmonella clones and emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
authors.affiliation: Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab, WSU Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA. tbesser@vetmed.wsu.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Besser
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D011634:Public Health; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology*